"Ryan P." wrote in message
...
ecarecar wrote:


Before you relax in you complacency, I think you should check on the rate
of change
during the "vast number of major changes in Earth's past history." I
think you will find
that never before has the rate of change been this large.
.
.
Okay, I did a bit of research. It seems that just after the end of the
last major ice age, 12,000 years ago (before modern civilzation), the
global temperature jumped by about 14 degrees (F) in just a few decades.
This article:

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/climate-04k.html

Cites several other examples of rapid climate change. Two particularly
interesting paragraphs:

""Technically, an abrupt climate change occurs when the climate system is
forced to cross some threshold, triggering a transition to a new state at
a rate determined by the climate system itself and faSter than the cause,"
according to a definition developed by the National Research Council.

Abrupt change needs a trigger, an amplifier -- some mechanism to have the
trigger affect a large area -- and a source of persistence. It turns out
lots of triggers have been identified, for example, an accumulation of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as is occurring now.""

Yep. One trigger I've seen brought forth regarding the end of dinosaurs is
CO2 related. Seems not only did some major comet or meteoroid strike, but
was also the ignition agent of the many trees that lay dead. Kinda like
burning alot of coal or oil derivative.
Dave